Stupid Question of the Day
Today's stupid question comes from Sen. Tom Coburn, who asks:
"Why is it wrong to shoot the [drug trafficker] after he's been told to stop?"
At least two answers come readily to mind. First, the fleeing suspect is only a suspect, having not been tried or convicted. Second, even if the suspected trafficker is guilty, death isn't the appropriate penalty for smuggling marijuana. We don't leave it up to the police (or Sen. Coburn) to assume the role of jury and executioner.
Here's a third answer:
Johnny Sutton, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said the Supreme Court has ruled that using deadly force in that way is illegal.
A little technicality like the law doesn't trouble Coburn, who remains confounded by the thought that Border Patrol agents were convicted for shooting an unarmed man and then covering up their misconduct. In the strange world of the GOP, as we learned in the Scooter Libby case, cover-ups deserve no punishment. Neither, apparently, does shooting at unarmed Mexicans.
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